The VideoLAN Forums

When I ' OPEN FILE ', VLC does not see or show my desktop.
This is just weird. My external drive icon is on desktop, but
VLC does not show desktop, huh ?
I reinstalled 4 times, etc.
I don't know how to troubleshoot this odd behaviour.

regards to all,
JIMWICK Toronto Canada

It is not odd behaviour, it is normal behaviour for every application on Mac OS X. No application on any OS will 'show the desktop' as it appears as part of an 'open' operation.

It sounds to me as though you've never used a Macintosh computer before. The icons for your drives on the desktop are along the same vein as the drive entries in 'My Computer' on a PC. The 'Desktop' folder only holds the files you put on the desktop.

Provided you haven't messed with the settings for the Finder, your external disk should be accessible in the 'Open File' dialog box in the sidebar under 'Devices'.

Also, 2.1.3 is outdated. 2.1.5 is the current stable version, and nightly testing builds for 2.2.0 are available.

I sent you a message, explaining that I have used macs for years, and used VLC for years.
VLC always displayed the DESKTOP as one selection in the drop menu via OPEN FILE.
Now it does not do that.

I have read your message, and it seems that you have to be clearer in conveying your problems. You honestly came off as a newbie in how you wrote out your initial post.

As for the 'issue' you are having, I maintain that it is not an issue at all. I'm not sure what you are expecting, but VLC has been using a variation on the standard system open dialog for a while now. The drop list in these standardised open boxes only shows the path for the current location, and the 5 most recently accessed folders.

Any other location is accessed via the sidebar, which in turn may be affected by the Finder's settings. If you don't see the Desktop in the sidebar, you may have to change the Finder's sidebar settings.

Quit VLC. Open your Finder preferences. Switch to Sidebar. Make sure Desktop is checked under Favorites. In a Finder window, find Desktop in the sidebar and drag it to your preferred position in the list. Re-open VLC and an Open dialog and you should see Desktop in your preferred position.